Syracuse, NY -- Carol Kelly was on the phone with her wife, Jackie Kelly, watching the U.S. Supreme Court's momentous decision trickle out on her computer.

"I let out this 'Whoop!" Carol Kelly said. It was official: the United States recognized their marriage and those of other same-sex couples as valid.

The Kellys plan to attend a rally in Syracuse tonight to celebrate the Supreme Court's overturning the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court ruled DOMA was an unconstitutional deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.

The law denies federal benefits available to married couples - including tax, health and retirement benefits - to gay and lesbian married couples, even in states such as New York where such unions are legal.

"It's wonderful; it's what we wanted," said Kim Dill, executive director of SAGE Upstate, which advocates for older gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the Syracuse area. "This is going to make a difference for many, many people across the country, especially the older people who we serve."

Under DOMA, when one spouse in a married same-sex couple died, the survivor wasn't entitled to the same Social Security benefits, inheritance benefits and veterans' benefits as the survivor in an opposite-sex marriage, she said. Those are only a few examples of the restrictions, she said.

"Because older LGBT people are less likely to have children to rely on for support and more likely to be estranged from their families, these kinds of safety net supports are extremely important," Dill said. "So we're overjoyed that those are going to become available to people across the country."

Charles Sprock, an adjunct law professor at Syracuse University and a lawyer who represents LGBT clients, said it was significant that Kennedy wrote the DOMA decision.
It was 10 years ago that Kennedy wrote a decision that opened the door to equal rights for homosexuals, Sprock said.

In that case out of Texas, the Supreme Court established that sodomy laws against consenting homosexuals were unconstitutional.

"That really laid the groundwork for today's decision," Sprock said. It led to same-sex marriages becoming legal in some states, including New York, he said.

"And here we are, 10 years later, overturning DOMA," he said.

Officials with the New York State Catholic Conference declined to comment on the court ruling, but referred a reporter to a written statement from Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation," Dolan said, citing the DOMA ruling and the court's refusal to rule on on the merits of a challenge to California's law against same-sex marriage. "The court got it wrong. The federal government ought to respect the truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, even where states fail to do so."

Carol and Jackie Kelly got married in September and have been together for six years. But like other gay and lesbian married couples, DOMA has prevented them from getting the same benefits as opposite-sex couples.

One benefit they'll gain will filing their federal income tax return as a married couple instead of singles for the first time, Carol Kelly said.

"Because we couldn't be recognized federally as being married, we lost out on $3,500," she said. "That hurts our family a lot."

DOMA, a 1996 law signed by then-President Bill Clinton, defined marriage strictly as a union between a man and a woman.

For the Kellys, the impact of overturning the law goes beyond the benefits they'll be able to receive. Having their marriage recognized by the federal government might mean they won't need to carry a copy of their New York state marriage certificate with them on out-of-state trips, Carol Kelly said.

"Say we had an accident and one of us ended up in the ICU," she said. "The other one wouldn't be allowed as a partner, a wife, into the ICU. They'd call some other member of our family."

The court's ruling had an emotional impact, the Kellys said. It's a recognition from their government that their relationship is legitimate, Carol Kelly said.

It's important for them to be able to tell that to their 14-year-old daughter, Orla Kelly.

"It means for her that our family is legitimized rather than marginalized," Carol Kelly said. "Now that there's recognition of our family, it's kind of a stress release for our child."

Dill will be one of the speakers at a rally at 5:30 p.m. at First English Lutheran Church, 501 James St., in Syracuse.

"For people in our community, we already knew that our relationships were valid," she said. "But today, the United States recognizes it. That's a great thing. This is a big one."